1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to a drive transmitter to transmit a driving force to reduce a speed of rotation of a gear per unit time, a process unit incorporating the drive unit, and an image forming apparatus incorporating the drive unit.
2. Related Art
A known drive transmitter that decelerates and transmits a driving force from a drive source such as a motor includes a partially toothed gear that has a part where teeth are provided to a part of an outer diameter thereof.
For example, a drive transmitter including a partially toothed gear is employed to a device to transmit a driving force to a stirring blade in a developing device of a printer.
A tooth of multiple teeth of a driven gear mesh with a tooth of a partially toothed gear, and therefore the driven gear is rotated with the partially toothed gear. However, once the driven gear and the partially toothed gear are disengaged, the driven gear stops rotating while the partially toothed gear keeps rotating. Consequently, the driven gear rotates intermittently, and the number of rotations of the driven gear per unit time is reduced and becomes smaller than the number of rotations of the partially toothed gear per unit time. Accordingly, a decelerated driving force is transmitted to the driven gear.